| Life's Unexpected Changes | Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell |
Anyone who has lived a few years has learned that life can change in an instant. One day all seems well and good, and then, the next day—the next instant—the whole world can change. Not long ago a family lived through one of those moments. A mother was driving in a snowstorm when another car, unable to stop, crashed into her car head on. Fortunately, everyone was fine, protected by air bags and seat belts. But for that moment, in that instant, they saw in a very dramatic way how precious and fragile life really is. Mingled with the fear and relief, mixed with tears and shock, were deep prayers of gratitude and expressions of love and concern. Cars can be repaired or replaced, but the effect on our lives is much deeper. Even small events can leave our lives forever altered in an instant. So how can we live with faith and courage amid such uncertainty and instability? A wise man who was asked a similar question explained that he tries to take advantage of each day as if the world will end tomorrow. “But,” he said, “I am still planting cherry trees!”1 Though none of us knows for sure what tomorrow will bring, we can determine to live with hope and optimism. We can resolve to subdue voices of fear and doubt in order to embrace life’s simple and joyous moments. We can express love and appreciation now and not wait for a future that may not turn out as we had planned. With every choice to cherish the present and face the future with positive expectation, we plant another cherry tree that promises a bountiful harvest for years to come. 1 Wilford Woodruff, quoted by Richard L. Evans, in Conference Report, Apr. 1950, 105. Program #4150 | |
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Life's Unexpected Changes--Spoken Word Given by Lloyd D. Newell
| Life's Unexpected Changes | Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell |
Saturday, March 28, 2009
President Thomas S. Monson Dedicates Draper Utah Temple
“He has such a warm and engaging personality about him,” said Debbie Haggerty, who attended the cornerstone ceremony. “It was a very special day.”
Eight-year old Gracie Awerkamp, of Sandy, Utah, was invited by President Monson to assist in placing mortar around the cornerstone.
“It was my first time to see the prophet and to watch a dedication,” said the eighth-generation Draper resident. The placing of the cornerstone symbolically depicts the completion of construction. Four children in all were invited to participate in the ceremony.
“He just pointed at me and my sister, and we got to help the prophet,” said Christoffer Hotvedt, 13, of Draper.
“It’s a great opportunity to know there’s a living prophet and that I was in his presence today,” said Tom Beauchamp, of Salt Lake City.
A choir of 200 young men and women from multiple stakes in the area welcomed President Monson and his entourage by performing “We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet.”
President Henry B. Eyring, of the First Presidency, and President Boyd K. Packer, president of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, and their wives also participated in the cornerstone ceremony.
President Monson began the first of 12 dedicatory sessions for the Draper Utah Temple following the cornerstone ceremony. Nearly 2,000 attendees are expected to attend each session over the next three days.
The two-month public open house for the new temple ended on Saturday, 14 March. Over 650,000 visitors toured the building during the open house.
The follwing is the dedicatory prayer offered by President Thomas S. Monson.
Text of prayer offered by President Thomas S. Monson to dedicate the Draper Utah Temple on March 20, 2009.
O God, our Eternal Father, Creator of the heavens, the earth and all things thereon, we come before Thee this sacred and blessed day with bowed heads, full hearts and grateful spirits.
We pray to Thee, our Father, in the name of Thy Beloved Son, even our Redeemer and our Savior, Jesus Christ, the Lord. We know that through obedience to Thy divine commandments, we may return to Thee and be blessed with life eternal in Thy exalted presence.
We are grateful for the completion of this, Thy Holy House. We pray that Thou wilt bless those faithful members here and throughout the world who have contributed their tithes which have made possible this magnificent edifice for Thy name's honor and glory and for the blessing of all who enter herein. Let peace prevail as we lift our voices in songs of praise and words of prayer unto Thee, our God.
We are thankful that Thou sent to this earth Thine Only Begotten Son, who gave His life as our Savior and our Redeemer. The Atonement wrought by Thy Son gives purpose to our being and turns our thoughts heavenward.
We thank Thee for the Prophet Joseph Smith and for the Restoration, and that Thou did appear to him in person to open the heavens and to restore to the world the knowledge of Thee and Thy Son and Thy holy purposes.
We thank Thee that Thou did reveal unto Thy priesthood even the sacred sealing power, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, so that in this temple and all Thy other holy houses Thy faithful Saints may be endowed with power from on high and may enter into those everlasting covenants which open the door to the receipt of all of the blessings of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the holy prophets.
The Plan of Salvation taught in the temple with simplicity, yet with power, will be as a never-failing beacon of divine light to guide our footsteps and keep them constantly on the pathway of eternal life.
As we do the work in this temple for those who have gone beyond, we are reminded of the inspired counsel of President Joseph F. Smith who declared: "Through our efforts in their behalf, their chains of bondage will fall from them, and the darkness surrounding them will clear away, that light may shine upon them; and they shall hear in the spirit world of the work that has been done for them by their children here, and will rejoice."
We seek to be like Thee; we seek to pattern our lives after the life of Thy Son; we desire righteousness for ourselves and our children and our children's children. We plead with Thee to make us worthy to inherit the fulness of those blessings found only in Thy holy temples — even those blessings which grow out of a continuation of the family unit forever.
Bless Thy messengers of glory — even the missionaries of Thy Church — that they may proclaim with persuasion and power Thy truths. Protect them, watch over them, and lead them to those whom Thou hast prepared to hear, to believe, and to embrace the Gospel of Thy Beloved Son.
Father in Heaven bless, we pray Thee, those called to lead Thy Church here upon the earth, that they may have Thy guiding influence and inspiration.
Bless the temple president and his counselors, together with their wives, and all who will assist in the operation of this temple.
Bless Thy children throughout the world who know hunger, who have no shelter and who face daily suffering. May we reach out in a spirit of love and true charity to those who yearn for our help.
In a time of departure from safe moorings, may youth of the noble birthright carry on in the traditions of their parents and grandparents. They are subjected to the sophistries of Satan. Help such youth to stand firm for truth and righteousness. Open wide to their view the gates of learning, of understanding, of service in Thy kingdom. Bless them with a lengthened view of their eternal possibilities.
Today when the family unit is under attack and things long held sacred are often ridiculed by the world, we seek Thy help to make us equal to our tasks, that our homes may be havens of peace and happiness. In our families, may we pause to pray and think to thank.
We express our gratitude for all who have participated in the preparations for this day of dedication, as well as for those who made possible the highly successful open house event. We ask Thy blessings to attend that vast throng who walked within these sacred walls and felt stirring thoughts course through their minds and hearts. May the spirit of the temple continue with them.
And now, our Beloved Father, acting in the authority of the Holy Priesthood and in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, we dedicate unto Thee and unto Thy Son this, the Draper Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We dedicate it as a house of baptism, a house of endowment, a house of sealing and a house of righteousness, both for the living and for the dead.
We humbly pray that Thou wilt accept this edifice and let Thy blessings be upon it. Let Thy spirit attend and guide all who officiate herein, that holiness will prevail in every room. May all who enter have clean hands and pure hearts. May they be built up in their faith and depart with a feeling of peace, praising Thy holy name.
We dedicate the ground on which the temple stands. We dedicate the beautiful structure, from the unseen footings to the majestic figure of Moroni crowning its highest point. We dedicate the baptistry, all of the facilities for administering the sacred ordinances, the endowment rooms, the sealing rooms with their sacred altars, and the lovely celestial room, together with all ancillary facilities and the beautiful grounds with their lawns, flowers, trees and shrubs. Protect all from any devastating influence, destruction or defacement.
May this House provide a spirit of peace to all who observe its majesty, and especially to those who enter for their own sacred ordinances and to perform the work for those beyond the veil. Let them feel of Thy divine love and mercy. May they be privileged to say, as did the Psalmist of old, "We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company."
As we dedicate this sacred edifice, we rededicate our very lives to Thee and to Thy work.
O, Holy Father, bless us with the peace promised by Thy Son — even the peace which passeth understanding. Shield us, we pray, from selfishness or sin and provide the power that we might rise above all that is sordid or below the dignity of Thy children.
And now we dedicate this temple as an abode for Thee and Thy Son. Let Thy glorious light ever shine upon it. Wilt Thou place Thy ratifying seal of approval upon this dedicatory service and upon all we have done and shall do in this, Thy Holy House, which we now present to Thee.
May we, Thy children, merit Thy bounteous blessings and Thy watchful care, we pray, in the name of Thy Beloved Son, even the name of Jesus Christ the Lord, Amen.
Sacred ceremonies: Latter-day Saints say temple worship must be experienced to be understood
By Peggy Fletcher Stack The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake Tribune | ||
| Updated:03/20/2009 06:03:55 PM MDT | ||
| ||
Thousands of Utahns have toured the new Draper LDS temple before its dedication this weekend. Millions may have watched the snippet of an LDS temple ceremony shown in a recent episode of HBO's "Big Love." Still, Mormons feel that few outsiders have a full sense of what temple worship means to the faithful, or why they hold it so sacred. That's because the ceremony is richer and more powerful, they believe, than the architecture, the special clothing or even the ritual re-enactments. It has to be experienced to be understood. "The temple ritual is always participatory," Julie Smith of Austin, Texas, writes on timesandseasons.org. "There is no observers' section." J. Nelson-Seawright, a professor in Chicago, says it's a place out of time. "When I enter, I lose track of clocks, hours, minutes and obligations," Nelson-Seawright writes. "We leave behind the cycle of appointments, bills and paychecks, of crimes and misdemeanors. The temple doors ... bring us into a radically streamlined sacred timelessness. The creation of the world and all its subsequent ages pass before our eyes. The immense, even colossal, realities of the physical world become a striking backdrop for the eternal drama of us." Some templegoers find answers to personal problems while meditating in one of the sacred rooms. Others describe it as going to heaven and back. Most find a taste of godliness in the experience. "I can go to the temple and feel close to God," LDS Apostle Jeffrey R. Holland says in an LDS-produced video, "Why Mormons Build Temples," posted last week on the church's Web site. Ann Madsen, an ancient-religions expert in Provo, calls the temple "the great metaphor on Earth for what heaven will be like." The late Krister Stendahl, an internationally respected theologian at Harvard, once called Mormon temple worship "a beautiful thing." "I could think of myself taking part in that act as a way of extending the blessings that have come to me in and through Jesus Christ," Stendahl says in the church's video. "It is a beautiful way of letting the eternal mix into the temporal, which in a way is what Christianity it about. ... It's making porous the wall between time and eternity." A unique history The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been building temples since its earliest days in the 1830s. Mormons believe angelic visitors attended the dedication of the church's first temple in Kirtland, Ohio, on Sunday, March 27, 1836. Several types of rituals are performed in these sacred structures. First, Mormon volunteers are baptized by proxy in the name of ancestors who died without having a chance to be baptized into what they believe is the true church of Jesus Christ. Second, they participate in a ritual re-enactment of the Creation, Adam and Eve's expulsion from the Garden of Eden, mortal experience of the world, and the return to God's presence. At each stage of this progression, participants make covenants in the name of Jesus Christ. Third, officials perform weddings, where couples are "sealed" for time and eternity. These rituals were essential, LDS founder Joseph Smith said, to empower humankind "to overcome all things." Critics claim that some of the temple rites were adapted from Freemasonry, after Smith participated in that fraternal order in Nauvoo, Ill. They point to the common use of symbols such as the all-seeing eye, the fraternal handshake, the compass and square as evidence of borrowing. But Mormon apologists dismiss those claims as overestimating the influence of Masonry. "Resemblances between the two rituals are limited to a small proportion of actions and words," Kenneth Godfrey writes in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism . "Latter-day Saints see their temple ordinances as fundamentally different from Masonic and other rituals and think of similarities as remnants from an ancient original." What it does After studying LDS temple rites and talking with believers, Mark Leone, a professor of anthropology at University of Maryland, concluded that the experience helped Mormons navigate their conflicts with modernity. "The temple takes the reality a Mormon lives with, calls it true, necessary and painful; shows the bliss that comes from being valiant in the face of it; takes the fears out of it by immersing him in it inside the temple; and then sends the individual back out to start again," Leone wrote in a groundbreaking essay, "The Mormon Temple Experience: A Non-Mormon look at a Latter-day Saint's Most Sacred Ritual." The whole experience is about order, Leone wrote. "They create a continuous line of relatives stretching back through the otherwise personally meaningless epochs of history." It gives participants a "foretaste of eternal bliss," he wrote. Kathleen Flake agrees. The temple ritual is an embodied experience, not a logical argument, says Flake, a professor of American religious history at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. "It is not a sermon. It is not didactic. It makes use of other ways of knowing." In the end, says Flake, a Mormon, the temple is an "instrument of sanctification. It leads us towards this thing called holiness." | ||
New Mormon Tabernacle Choir Associate Music Director Appointed
The appointment concludes a world-wide search that began in August of 2008 and culminated with experience conducting both the Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square.
Murphy has extensive choral conducting and professional musical theater experience. He currently conducts six choirs in the Boston area, including two choirs at the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music. He serves as the choral director at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts, an internationally recognized secondary school affiliated with the New England Conservatory.
He has served as the music director for the Tuacahn theatre in the St. George, Utah, area and prior to that as the music director for five seasons at the Sundance Institute in Provo, Utah. He has maintained an active performing schedule, including recent collaborations at the Tanglewood Summer Festival outside of Boston.
Speaking about his appointment, Murphy said: “It is a dream come true to work with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and to be associated with the caliber of musicians here serving the Church. It will be an honor to assist Dr. Mack Wilberg, and I look forward to working with him to touch the hearts of a wide variety of people, cultures, ages and beliefs.”
Mack Wilberg, music director of the choir, looks forward to having Murphy join the artistic staff on Temple Square. “We are extremely pleased to have Ryan join us in working with the choir and the orchestra. He is a very talented and well-rounded musician with a breadth of experience. His energy and enthusiasm will contribute to the work we are doing to fulfill the mission of the choir in our concerts, broadcasts and recordings.”
Murphy graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in piano and organ performance and pedagogy. He also has a master’s degree in choral conducting from Brigham Young University and will receive his doctorate in choral conducting from Boston University in May of this year. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children and currently reside in Belmont, Massachusetts. Murphy plans to begin his duties on Temple Square this summer after concluding his responsibilities in Boston.
The Oldest Lady in the World.
The Oldest Woman In The World?
Dosova lives in a small town of Prishakhtinsk, in central Kazakhstan, has 11 children and 37 grandchildren and great grandchildren.
According to Nuken Alkeshova, her granddaughter who takes care of her, the last national census several years ago revealed that her grandmother was the oldest citizen in the country -- and if true, the oldest citizen in the world by 16 years.
Alkeshova put her longevity down to eating cottage cheese and not eating sweets, and in an interview with RFE/RL's Kazakh Service certainly doesn't put it down to the $110 a month state pension she receives.
It's incredibly difficult to deny or support her claim. Dosova has both a Soviet-era passport and Kazakh identification card.
But speaking to a Kazakh colleague, he said his mother, born in the 1930s, didn't know exactly which year she was born.
In the Russian and Soviet empires, the combination of non-Russian speaking locals and non-Kazakh speaking provincial officials meant bureaucratic errors were common.
Because of the distances involved in getting from remote parts of the steppe to regional capitals, documents like birth certificates were often processed every few years in mass batches thus widening the margins of bureaucratic error.
That's not to take anything away from Mrs Dosova though, who is clearly a remarkable lady.
In an interview with RFE/RL, Dosova said she hoped our correspondents wouldn't see what she saw in her long life and wanted the Kazakh authorities to realize how pitiful her pension was.
-- Luke Allnutt
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty © 2009 RFE/RL, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
London, Mar 25 (ANI): A Kazakhstan lady, who mothered ten children, will be celebrating her 130th birthday this week, making her the world’s oldest person by 16 years.
Sakhan Dosova’s age was discovered during a census in Karaganda in northern Kazakhstan, when the date of birth on her passport showed as 1879, which was the same year Edison invented the light bulb and Stalin and Einstein were born.
Dosova’s age surprised demographers when they found that she had been on Stalin’s first census of the former Soviet region in 1926, when her age was given as 47, and they are now trying to confirm the record.
For the 129-year-old lady, she puts her longevity down to her love for cottage cheese and her sense of humour, and never visiting a doctor or eating sweets.
“I don’t have any special secret. I’ve never taken pills and if I was ill I took grannies’ remedies,” the Sun quoted her as saying.
“I’ve never eaten sweets. But I love kurt — a salty dried cottage cheese — and talkan, a ground wheat,” she stated.
Dosova lives in poor conditions in an overcrowded flat with a granddaughter, Gaukhar Kanieva, 42, and apart from hearing problems she is in good health.
“She is a very cheerful woman. We think laughter and her good mood help her live so long,” Kanieva said of her grandma.
The aged lady has been congratulated by the local mayor, and as of now, she is the oldest living person in the world followed by American Edna Parker who is 114.
Dosova was born on March 27, 1879, when Queen Victoria had 22 years left to rule, Benjamin Disraeli was Prime Minister and Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle published his first story. (ANI)
Contagious Happiness--Spoken Word Given by Lloyd D. Newell
| Contagious Happiness | Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell |
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
A Problem Is an Opportunity--Spoken Word Given by Lloyd D. Newell
| A Problem Is an Opportunity | Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell |
The Publicity Dilemma--News from the Church
As Catholics, Jews and Muslims have known for centuries, such attention is inevitable once an institution or faith group reaches a size or prominence sufficient to attract notice. Yet Latter-day Saints – sometimes known as Mormons - still wonder whether and how they should respond when news or entertainment media insensitively trivialize or misrepresent sacred beliefs or practices.
Church members are about to face that question again. Before the first season of the HBO series Big Love aired more than two years ago, the show’s creators and HBO executives assured the Church that the series wouldn’t be about Mormons. However, Internet references to Big Love indicate that more and more Mormon themes are now being woven into the show and that the characters are often unsympathetic figures who come across as narrow and self-righteous. And according to TV Guide, it now seems the show’s writers are to depict what they understand to be sacred temple ceremonies.
Certainly Church members are offended when their most sacred practices are misrepresented or presented without context or understanding. Last week some Church members began e-mail chains calling for cancellations of subscriptions to AOL, which, like HBO, is owned by Time Warner. Certainly such a boycott by hundreds of thousands of computer-savvy Latter-day Saints could have an economic impact on the company. Individual Latter-day Saints have the right to take such actions if they choose.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as an institution does not call for boycotts. Such a step would simply generate the kind of controversy that the media loves and in the end would increase audiences for the series. As Elder M. Russell Ballard and Elder Robert D. Hales of the Council of the Twelve Apostles have both said recently, when expressing themselves in the public arena, Latter-day Saints should conduct themselves with dignity and thoughtfulness.
Not only is this the model that Jesus Christ taught and demonstrated in his own life, but it also reflects the reality of the strength and maturity of Church members today. As someone recently said, “This isn’t 1830, and there aren’t just six of us anymore.” In other words, with a global membership of thirteen and a half million there is no need to feel defensive when the Church is moving forward so rapidly. The Church’s strength is in its faithful members in 170-plus countries, and there is no evidence that extreme misrepresentations in the media that appeal only to a narrow audience have any long-term negative effect on the Church.
Examples:
During the Mitt Romney election campaign for the presidency of the United States, commentator Lawrence O’Donnell hurled abuse at the Church in a television moment that became known among many Church members as “the O’Donnell rant.” Today, his statements are remembered only as a testament to intolerance and ignorance. They had no effect on the Church that can be measured.
When the comedy writers for South Park produced a gross portrayal of Church history, individual Church members no doubt felt uncomfortable. But once again it inflicted no perceptible or lasting damage to a church that is growing by at least a quarter of a million new members every year.
When an independent film company produced a grossly distorted version of the Mountain Meadows Massacre two years ago, the Church ignored it. Perhaps partly as a result of that refusal to engender the controversy that the producers hoped for, the movie flopped at the box office and lost millions.
In recent months, some gay activists have barraged the media with accusations about “hateful” attitudes of Latter-day Saints in supporting Proposition 8 in California, which maintained the traditional definition of marriage. They even organized a protest march around the Salt Lake Temple. Again, the Church has refused to be goaded into a Mormons versus gays battle and has simply stated its position in tones that are reasonable and respectful. Meanwhile, missionary work and Church members in California remain as robust and vibrant as ever, and support for the Church has come from many unexpected quarters — including some former critics and other churches.
Now comes another series of Big Love, and despite earlier assurances from HBO it once again blurs the distinctions between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the show’s fictional non-Mormon characters and their practices. Such things say much more about the insensitivities of writers, producers and TV executives than they say about Latter-day Saints.
If the Church allowed critics and opponents to choose the ground on which its battles are fought, it would risk being distracted from the focus and mission it has pursued successfully for nearly 180 years. Instead, the Church itself will determine its own course as it continues to preach the restored gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Temple Ready Online
Rolling out TempleReady Online
By Michael De Groote
MormonTimes.comPublished: Sunday, Jun. 15, 2008
Preparing ancestors’ names for temple work is getting easier with the implementation of an Internet-based process designed to replace the TempleReady computer application.
The new process is temporarily being called "TempleReady Online" after the more complicated, older "TempleReady" desktop computer program. The older process requires church members to go to LDS family history centers to process the names for temple work and put the information in an electronic file. The member then takes the file on a disk to the temple where temple workers print name cards used to do temple ordinances.
"TempleReady (Online) is going to let you do that from the convenience of your own home, totally online," said Paul Nauta, FamilySearch public affairs manager. He said the online program will make the process quicker, easier and help eliminate duplication and errors.
"You can print a temple ordinance sheet at home that you can take to the temple where they can scan it and print a card there," Nauta said. "The neat thing is that all the work you do will be updated immediately in real time. This eliminates duplication by several people getting cards under the current system. Before you can get home from your temple experience, your data is going to be updated."
But there has been some confusion. Because FamilySearch, the LDS Church's genealogy brand, is working on several projects, some people have mistakenly thought the rollout of TempleReady Online is the totality of the "new FamilySearch."
The confusion comes in part from the Web site URL that FamilySearch has been using to introduce TempleReady Online as it is rolled out in individual temple districts.
"People are thinking that that is the new replacement for familysearch.org and that it is the new familysearch.org that is coming, and that is so far from the truth," Nauta said.
Many changes are coming to the LDS Church's popular www.familysearch.org Web site -- and TempleReady Online is only one part of the new FamilySearch changes.
"New FamilySearch is going to be a wiki, a new search engine, an indexing program which allows us to index records worldwide and an online family tree -- where people will actually be able to add, manage and share their family history online in real time, kind of like a desktop program but without all the bells and jingles, Nauta said. "Those are all different features and benefits that are coming under what we call the new vision of FamilySearch."
TempleReady Online is really just one of the functions of the larger Family Tree online program that is designed as an alternative to the church's older desktop program Personal Ancestral File or PAF. Nauta said Family Tree will make it convenient to manage family history files online and share them with other people. Many of the features of the new FamilySearch can be test driven at labs.familysearch.org -- including Family Tree.
"People will still be able to use PAF if they wish to do so," said Nauta. He also recommended that people continue their family history work instead of waiting for the new programs and services.
Meanwhile, TempleReady Online is being introduced systematically to every temple district in the world.
"I think the Wasatch Front (Salt Lake area) is going to be the last," Nauta said, "mainly because we are the biggest market. They are rolling it out (first) to smaller- and medium-sized temples; a mixture of domestic and international, so we can test all the different applications and complexities that deal with foreign-language conversion."
Although FamilySearch has no official list or published schedule of the rollout, an un-official map at the Ancestry Insider blog keeps track of TempleReady Online's implementation.
MormonTimes.com is produced by the Deseret News in Salt Lake City, Utah.
It is not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Copyright © 2009 Deseret News Publishing Company
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http://tech.lds.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=125&Itemid=83
Question
Presently, the "Temple Ready" and "Online IGI/Ordinance Index" databases are seperate and require lookup individually or require a user to use PAFInsight or other software products coupled with Temple Ready for clearance of names. How soon will the databases be merged, the program updated, and submissions from home or remote locations be available?
Answer
Saturday, March 7, 2009
New Visitors Center Director for Laie Hawaii Temple VC
‘Weatherman’ reports at Laie Temple Visitors Center
A popular figure familiar to millions of people in the Intermountain West for decades as the on-air weatherman for KSL-TV in Salt Lake City, Utah, is now director of the Laie Hawaii Temple Visitors Center for the next two years.
Elder Mark Eubank [pictured at right], who recently retired from his TV weather-casting responsibilities, and his wife, Sister Jean Eubank, had been serving a senior mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for a year at the St. George, Utah, Temple Visitors Center when he was asked to take the reins in Laie. He succeeded Elder Richard Jacobs on January 17.
Elder Eubank, whose home is now in Bountiful, Utah, said he had previously visited Laie two times as a tourist, and had even come to the Visitors Center on the Polynesian Cultural Center tram, "but I did not get off and go in. I don't know why: We admired the beauty, and just took the tram back [to the Center]."
"The people here are so kind and friendly, whether it's at church, at the market, on the streets," Elder Eubank said of his early impressions of the community. "It's a wonderful, small-town atmosphere. I like it here."
That, of course, begged the question: How does a man who has been recording weather stats in a spiral notebook for the past 50 years and got his first rain gauge as a Christmas present at age 14 like the weather here?
"I absolutely love rain, and I have never seen enough rain to suit me," he quickly responded, noting the St. George Temple Visitors Center, with 8.5 inches of rain a year, is the driest one in the church. "So when we got called to Hawaii, I scurried about and found Laie is the wettest visitors center, even counting Hamilton, New Zealand. I don't want to see floods come back, but I'm delighted to be here."
"All of my experience has been in the mid-latitudes, where the storms come out of the west. This is the tropics, with easterly trade winds, so it's a whole new experience for me, and I hope to learn from it. For example, I love Laie because it has changeable weather: The sun pops out one minute and it's hot. The next minute it rains, and then there's a rainbow. The trade winds howl and the coconuts fall out of the tree. I think that's just fascinating."
Elder Eubank's obvious passion began turning into his livelihood in Los Angeles at age 15, when he wrote a weekly weather forecasting column for his local newspaper. The next year he moved to Redding, California, where he broke into weather reports on the radio. In 1967 he moved to Salt Lake City to complete a degree in meteorology at the University of Utah.
He's been a broadcast weatherman practically ever since, cheering up viewers with his high energy, fun repertoire of personal sound effects and quirky personality as often demonstrated by the white jacket he would wear when forecasting snow. He also served as director of the weather forecast center during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City; and he and his wife operated a weather forecasting business.
"I always wanted to go out at the top of my game," said Elder Eubank, who retired at age 65, "and it just so happened that my son — who was a competitor to me for a number of years — took over. I got to hand off the baton to my own son, Kevin Eubank. He's still at KSL."
"When we finish our mission here, we'll be about 70," he continued, adding at that point he would like spend time with their seven children and 13 grandchildren, and to do some traveling and study. "I'd like to go back to university to take a couple of classes, to learn and ask questions."
He also explained that the Laie Visitors Center, which is open every day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., is here "to acquaint people with the history of Laie, with the temple which has been here since 1919 [although it is temporarily closed for renovations], and about Christ."
"My job as director is to make sure the center runs efficiently. We currently have a staff of 17 young sister missionaries and four other senior couples. In reality, all I have to do is stand back and let them run: They are so excited and enthusiastic to have guests and visitors here. They do a marvelous job. They can also do it in Japanese, two different dialects of Chinese, Filipino, Samoan, Tongan and Russian. Plus, when people come in to see the statue of the Christus, we can also play a two-minute message in 34 different languages."
Elder Eubank also said the people of Laie and the surrounding communities often come in: "They're very family oriented, and many of them observe the Sabbath day. After their church meetings, they come into the Visitors Center to learn, study, talk and mingle. There are a number of audio-visual presentations, and they love to watch them, too. So, Saturday and Sundays are our two busiest days. We love to have them." He added he plans to increase the number of "fireside" and other programs for the local communities.
"There's a special feeling here," Elder Eubank continued. "For me, it's the Spirit. The Spirit is here, and even the guests can feel it. This is sacred ground, and it's a privilege for me to be here."
— Photos by Mike Foley
Torah Bright's Olympic Pipe Dream
Vancouver, B.C. – Thirty minutes from the Pacific Ocean, on a mountain called Cypress, forty snowboarders took to the pipe, the half-pipe, for their first taste of the Vancouver Vibe.
Among them, stomping, bonking and hucking herself off booters was 22-year old Torah Bright, a 2006 Olympian who finished fifth in Turin, Italy, and seeking a return in 2010.
On Valentine's Day, this sweetheart on snow would finish a disappointing sixth at the LD Snowboard FIS World Cup. Her coach says she had too much speed.
“Benny was like ‘you we're truckin' over that,'” Torah said in a slope side interview after the race.
Torah tore through the 600 foot snow-filled ditch that will be the site of next years' Olympic snowboard venue. The 2007 World Champion used the 22-foot frozen banks to launch her patented McTwist maneuver; an inverted 540, a backflip with a twist.
“No pressure,” she said through an infectious smile. “I pretty much just have fun with it.”
“It's something I've always wanted to do. Since I was a Sunbeam,” said the daughter of Peter and Marion Bright who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“Mum and dad drove us to the mountains every weekend (in her hometown of Cooma , Australia ). Dad loved skiing and got the whole family hooked,” she said.
Four siblings. An older sister, Rowena, competed in ski racing at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City . Her older brother, Ben, is now her coach.
“We grew up riding together,” he said. And now he coaches a World Champion.
During the one year countdown to the Games it was noted that more spectator tickets have been sold to the Olympic half-pipe final than any other event except opening ceremonies and the men's and women's gold medal hockey games. No pressure.
“I always want to do my best at everything I do,” said Torah. “The only pressure is self-pressure.”
Judged by amplitude, difficulty, variety and ‘using the pipe,' Torah says her personal beliefs help her to be a better person on and off the snow.
“I have strong beliefs and they never waiver,” she said. “(The gospel) keeps me grounded and gives me purpose to what I am doing.”
“It's hard when I am on the road because I go to church every Sunday,” said Torah, “but the lifestyle suits me. I love the traveling. I'll be in (Lake) Tahoe next week and Morocco the week after that. I like to let my personality come through, but I don't indulge in the social side,” said Torah referring to the clubbing and bar-hopping.
“I'm the sober driver,” she says. “At the end of the night, everybody loves a sober driver. I go out and dance all night with them and then I am usually the last one standing on the dance floor.”
Amidst an environment not always conducive to Latter-day Saint ideals, Torah credits her parents for helping her to establish the pattern of living.
“Seems to be one of the easier things for me. Mum always said she'd teach us correct principles and let us make our own choices. She did a good job raising us. She's a strong lady,” said Torah who now lives in Salt Lake City .
She doesn't dismiss but downplays the role model reference.
“I think the way we believe as Latter-day Saints is amazing. Especially in the world today.”
Snowboarders enter the pipe one at a time to perform a physically demanding series of jumps, twists and tricks. Torah says there are real world benefits associated with living the Word of Wisdom.
“I made the decision that I wasn't going to drink (alcohol) when I was around 14.” A reference to the code of conduct contained in Section 89 of a book of scripture known as the Doctrine and Covenants: “(They) shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.”
American snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler, who won a silver medal at the Winter Games in Turin, Italy, praised the shredder from Down Under.
“Torah has become, hands-down, one of the most technically gifted riders out there,” said Torah's runner-up at Winter X Games 12.
The leader of the Australian Olympic delegation anticipates 25 to 35 athletes will compete for Team Australia.
“We are targeting a few medals at the Vancouver Games. Torah Bight and Holly Crawford in the halfpipe and Lydia Lassila and Jacqui Cooper in the aerials have really good chances,” said Ian Chesterman, Chef de Mission. “All up we are going to have a very strong team across a fairly big range of sports.”
“I can't wait to come back here in one year's time for the Olympic events,” said Jacque Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee.
Neither can Torah.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Living Within Our Means--Spoken Word Given by Lloyd D. Newell
| Living Within Our Means | Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell |